Minister of Investment/Head of Investment Coordinating Board, Bahlil Lahadalia, has announced plans to grant a number of revoked mining business permits (IUPs) to a number of religious organizations.
A total of 2,078 IUPs have been ordered by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to be revoked. They were revoked because the owners had never submitted their work plans to the government as regulated.
According to Minister Bahlil, he will explain about the plan according to the regulations and the details at a later date, but has not yet determined when.
He said that this token of appreciation was granted because various religious organizations had liberated this nation a long time ago. He also discussed the role of these organizations during the military aggression in 1948. He said that those who made fatwas on national independence were not conglomerates nor companies, but religious leaders.
He then said that granting this IUP was necessary and could be useful as long as it was done well. Then, he hopes that these organizations can manage them professionally and find good partners.
According to him, the role of mass organizations is used to handling their respective communities, so it is not an obstacle for them to manage their respective IUPs. Bahlil also compared religious organizations with companies that received IUPs from the government.
He cited that companies also need help from contractors in carrying out their respective IUPs. He emphasized that he would continue to fight for the granting of this IUP to related religious organizations, because mass organizations are part of state assets that must be protected.
“Therefore, the state has an obligation to provide some (IUP) for the good in running the organization,” he said.
It was earlier reported that Bahlil had been planning the matter since last March. The distribution of IUPs has been stated in the form of regulations at the level of Government Regulations. This IUP distribution is also part of the redistribution of IUPs which had been revoked in 2022. This distribution is believed to be part of equalizing opportunities for all community groups.
Meanwhile, no more than five to six religious organizations have received IUPs. On the other hand, Bahlil does not plan to distribute it to all mass organizations totaling more than 400 groups, on the grounds that no one is monitoring it.
He admitted that discussions about granting IUPs to religious organizations had emerged when he was formulating the revision of PP No. 96/2021 on the Implementation of Mineral and Coal Mining Activities with Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.
At that meeting, an agreement on fair and even granting and redistribution of revoked IUPs was achieved. However, it remains uncertain whether the granting of IUPs to religious organizations will be regulated in PP No. 96/2021.
“The regulations could be included in the revised PP No. 96/2021 or Presidential Regulation. What is certain is that the rules for granting IUPs to religious organizations are still being discussed,” he said.
